


Final Hour

by SockMunchies



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Cryogenics, Emotional Hurt, F/M, Feels, Heartbreak, Hurt No Comfort, Multi, Murder, Pre-War, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-15 02:10:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14149665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SockMunchies/pseuds/SockMunchies
Summary: Erin is a housewife, with a husband named Mat and a beautiful daughter named Cherry.Her life is destroyed when the bombs are dropped, and her and her family are rushed into Vault 111.Believing she is now safe, Erin enters the 'decontamination pod' and is cryogenically frozen in time.She awakes from her sleep, only to witness the murder of her husband and kidnapping of her child.





	Final Hour

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is something I wrote a long time ago!
> 
> I wrote this for a school essay contest thing, and I got 2nd place with this story. 
> 
> I was perusing my old files and found it and decided to submit it here. 
> 
> Also, the dialogue may seem a bit off, mostly since I had to change some things as to not get 'plagiarism' in red letters on my paper.
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

It was a cold day in the year 2077. It was almost Halloween and everyone in the town of Sanctuary Hills was preparing for the big day. Erin was getting ready in the bathroom with her husband, Matt. Erin put her hair into her usual neat ponytail, kissed Matt on the cheek, and walked out of the bathroom. She walked down the hallway into her infant daughter’s room. The infant was lying in a blue crib next to a stuffed bear. The infant’s name was Cherry and she was squirming about looking up at the ceiling. Erin leaned over the crib and smiled at Cherry. Erin felt a sense of love and accomplishment wash over her as she looked at Cherry. Erin then got up from the crib and walked into the main room of the house.

As Erin stepped into the main room, she saw Codsworth waiting for her. Codsworth was a Mr. Handy robot designed by General Atomics International to help with basic household chores. 

“Your Coffee, Ma’am!” Codsworth said in a very satisfying British accent. 

“Thanks, Codsworth,” Erin said, still tired from waking up. 

“And today’s news, just delivered!” Codsworth said, gesturing to the newspaper laying on the counter. As Codsworth finished what he was saying, Matt stepped into the room and grabbed the newspaper. 

“Sigh, more of the same,” Matt whispered in a monotone voice.

“Hey, think about it this way, at least the worlds not ending,” Erin said, in the usual sarcastic tone she talked in. 

“Ha, yea. I guess you’re right,” Matt laughed. Erin sat on the couch and watched the news channel that was on the TV. The reporter was talking about all the usual things a reporter talks about. Suddenly, Cherry started to cry from the other room. 

“I will attend to young Cherry at once!” Codsworth exclaimed as he hovered into Cherry’s room.

“I know we were nervous at first, but I’m glad we got Codsworth,” Matt said, still reading the newspaper.

“We should get him serviced soon, hon. Don’t you think?” Erin mentioned still looking at the news reporter on the TV. 

 

As Erin sat on the couch and Matt looked at the newspaper, the doorbell rang.

“It’s that salesmen, again,” Matt said in a slightly annoyed tone. “He has been trying to reach you for weeks, now.”

“Might as well see what he wants, I guess,” Erin exclaimed, as she stood up from the couch and walked to the door. As Erin oped the door, she saw a salesman in a tan trench coat and a very unflattering fedora to match. 

“Good morning! Vault-Tec Calling!” the salesman exclaimed in a very overexcited tone.

“Vault-Tec? What’s Vault-Tec?” Erin asked, not knowing what the salesmen was talking about.

“Well, Vault-Tec is here to ensure a better life, underground!” The salesmen then continued with, “In case of total atomic annihilation, Vault-Tec is here to provide shelter for those are eligible to get in!”

“And why are you here, I don’t want whatever your selling,” Erin said in a very annoyed tone.

“Oh, I think you do!” the salesmen said with a nervous cough. “I just need some information regarding you and your family!”

“Go away. I don’t want to buy it,” Erin said, being thoroughly annoyed at this point. 

“C’mon, its peace of mind. That’s worth a little paperwork, right?” Matt interjected, trying to get this over with as soon as possible.

“I think someone forgot what no means,” Erin exclaimed, looking at Matt fiercely.

“Sigh, fine. I’ll do it, stubborn,” Matt said, walking over to fill out the forms for the salesmen.

“Wonderful! Here is the location and payment information!” The salesmen exclaimed, handing the forms to Matt.

 

As Matt finished filling out the forms, Erin was already sitting on the couch watching the News. 

“Like I said, its peace of mind,” Matt said, sitting next to Erin on the couch.

“Yea, I guess you’re right. For you and Cherry, no price is too high,” Erin said, looking at Matt in a caring manner. Codsworth then entered the main room and looked at Erin.

“I’ve fed and changed Cherry, but she absolutely refuses to calm down,” Codsworth exclaimed. “I think she needs some of that maternal affection you seem to be so good at!” 

“Alright, Codsworth,” Erin said, getting up from the couch and walking over to Cherry’s room.

“I’ll join you in a minute, hon,” Matt said as he rose from the couch. 

 

Erin walked to Cherry’s room and looked over the crib. Cherry was indeed crying like any infant would. Erin put her hands into the crib and caressed Cherry in a very motherly manner. Cherry started to calm down and close her eyes. Just as Erin pulled her hand away from the baby, Matt stepped into the room.

“My girl isn’t giving her mother any trouble, is she?” Matt said as he walked over to the foot of Cherry’s crib.

“No, not now at least,” Erin stated still looking down at Cherry.

“Hey, I fixed that mobile on her crib the other day, why don’t you give it a spin?” Matt said as he leaned over the crib.

Erin looked at the newly fixed mobile sitting above Cherry. The mobile was constructed with spaceships and stars hanging on it. Erin then pressed the button on top of the mobile to start it spinning. The mobile emitted a pleasant tune as it spun slowly above the infant. Cherry started to laugh as she looked up at the spinning mobile.

“That’s my girl, on her best behavior, just like her dad,” Matt said. “Well, most of the time anyway.”

“She’s going to grow up and do great things, I know it,” Erin said with a big smile going across her face.

“Listen,” Matt said, now looking at Erin, “after breakfast I was thinking we could all go to the park together.”

“Yea, sounds like a lot of fun! I think Cherry would enjoy that,” Erin said leaning on Cherry’s crib.

 

Just as Erin finished what she was saying, she could hear Codsworth from the other room.

“Sir, Ma’am,” Codsworth said with a worried tone in his voice, “you should come and see this!”

“Codsworth, what’s wrong?” Matt exclaimed, also with a worried tone.

“Grab Cherry, I’ll go see what’s wrong,” Erin said, starting to walk out of the room.

Matt gently picked up Cherry and followed Erin to the main room. Codsworth was hovering next to the TV. As Erin walked closer, she could hear everything that the news reporter was saying. 

“We have reports of, yes, blinding flashes, confirmed reports of bombs dropped in New York, Las Vegas…” The news reporter stopped in the middle of what he was saying and laid his head down in his hands. “This can’t be happening…oh god…we have received word that a nuclear bomb is heading towards Massachusetts as we speak.” The news reporter then continued with, “Go find shelter, quick, bring your family and make it to safety, and god help us all.” The television cut out and all the light in the house went dark. It was the beginning of the end.

“We need to get to the vault, NOW!” Erin screamed as she headed towards the door.

“I’ve got Cherry, lead the way!” Matt exclaimed, clutching Cherry in his arms.

Erin and Matt ran out of the door and into the street. Everywhere Erin looked there was military men and worried civilians. As Erin looked around, she saw a military officer pointing in the direction of the vault yelling.

“Everyone this way! Everyone to the vault, NOW!” The officer said, gesturing his whole body towards the direction, making sure everyone saw him. 

“This way! C’mon, hon!” Erin said as she ran towards the direction the man was pointing.

Panic was in the air as everyone ran along the path leading to the vault. As Erin crossed the bridge leading to the vault, she could see the salesman standing at a gate. What was he doing here? Why wasn’t he already inside? Erin thought these questions, but the overwhelming sense of panic she felt quickly replaced these as she neared the gate. Erin saw neighbors sitting in the fetal position and holding their significant others. Erin then focused her attention on the salesman, who was blocking the entrance to the gate. 

“That’s absurd! I AM vault-Tec! I’m going in!” the salesman protested to the guard blocking the entrance. 

“Sir, step aside, now!” the guard stated, now pointing his firearm directly at the salesman.

“I’m reporting this!” the salesman said as he started to run away from the gate down the path.

Erin ran to the guard, sweating profusely and filled with terror and panic. 

“We need to get in! We’re on the list!” Erin exclaimed pointing at the clipboard the guard was holding.

“Infant, adult male, adult female, alright. Head inside, and god help us all,” the guard said as he stepped aside to let Erin and Matt inside. The only thing running through Erin’s mind at that moment was how thankful she was that Matt had filled out the forms and what would’ve happened if he hadn’t. However, that didn’t matter now. As Erin and her family stepped through the gate, they were greeted by another Vault-Tec security guard. The guard gestured the family to follow him and then ran towards the vault entrance. As they neared the vault platform, the guard pointed and gestured towards it.

“Step in the center of the platform!” He screamed. 

The guard did not have to tell Erin twice, as she was on the platform before he even finished his sentence. Matt followed Erin, still holding onto Cherry with his life. 

“Is Cherry okay?” Erin screamed at Matt, trying to make sure everyone was ok.

“Yea, she’s fine, I love you,” Matt said, out of breath from running so far.

As Matt finished this sentence, a mushroom cloud, accompanied by a loud BOOM, could be seen in the distance. Everyone on the platform looked in the direction of the explosion. Was this it? Was this the end? Erin thought these as everyone around her was screaming and yelling.

“Send it down, send it down now!” A guard yelled as the platform started to lower. 

“Hold on!” Erin screamed, terrified at the thought of not making it time. 

As the platform lowered, a cloud of debris, smoke, death, and radiation washed over the opening. Erin only saw this for a second, as the door to the vault was quickly closed.

As the platform lowered into the vault, Erin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking about what would have happened if they had left a second later. She looked over at Matt, who was still holding Cherry against his chest. 

“Hon?” Erin said as she placed her hand on Matts shoulder.

“So, this is our new home…,” Matt said, turning around to face Erin. 

“Everyone step out of elevator and through the radiation detectors, please,” a guard said as he gestured towards the steps leading to the vault.

 

Erin was the first to step out of the elevator, followed by Matt and Cherry. As Erin stepped through the radiation detectors, she heard a voice to her left saying, “All clear” and for her to move on.

“Just step over there, and put your vault suit on!” a woman told her as she handed Erin and Matt a vault suit. 

The vault suits were blue, black, and had golden trims. When Erin put the suit on, she thought it looked quite slimming, and that she would be happy to wear this every day.

“What now…?” Erin asked, still terrified and shocked. 

“Just follow the doctor!” the woman said, as she handed another vault suit to Matt.

“Just follow me, you three!” the doctor said as he started to walk down a long hallway.

The doctor took a left, and then a right, went straight for some time, then took another right into an odd-looking room. The room was filled with pods which had condensation sticking to the glass.

“We just have to get through a few medical items first, before we head further down into the vault!” the doctor said, gesturing for Erin to step into the ‘decontamination’ pod.

Suddenly, Cherry started to cry. Erin was not surprised, as she was also ready to burst out into tears.

“Hon, can you come help me?” Matt said, rocking Cherry back and forth in his arms.

“Who’s my little girl? Mommy’s not going far, I’ll just be over there,” Erin said, looking at Cherry as lovingly as she could at the moment. 

“See? Mommy’s not going far…,” Matt said, also looking down at Cherry.

“All ready? Just step into the pod!” the doctor said, gesturing his hand towards the pod.

 

As Erin stepped into the pod, the door shut in front of her. She looked through the glass panel and saw her husband, Matt, and her infant girl, Cherry. 

“Time for a whole new life…,” Erin whispered to herself. 

 

“Cryogenic stasis initialized,” the computer said. Then everything turned white. 

#

“Cryogenic stasis, suspended.” The computer told Erin, as her vision began to clear. As she looked around her, she noticed that she was still concealed in the ‘decontamination pod’ she stepped into earlier. 

“This is the one, here.” a voice said as a woman in a hazmat suit came into Erin’s view.

“Yea, that’s definitely the one. Just get the thing open.” Another, more rough voice demanded as a tall, battered looking man came into view. His outfit was strange, on his right arm was a large metallic plate covering his shoulder, strapped to his body by a harness that tightly gripped the leather jacket he was wearing. He looked as if he had seen war. There was a long scar across his left eye and he had the look of someone who had been through a lot. He was bald, and had a beard that wrapped around his wide and defined jawline. As this man came into Erin’s view, she noticed he held a large caliber .44 pistol in one of his hands. Erin slammed her fist against glass panel in front of her, at a feeble attempt of getting the man’s attention, but to no avail. 

“We just need the girl?” The woman in the hazmat suit said, starting to open the chamber.

“Yep, whatever happens to the man is collateral damage at this point. Just get the pod open.” The man said, grabbing a cloth from his pocket, starting to clean his gun with it. As he finished what he was saying, the pod opened and Mat hunched over Cherry, coughing profusely. 

“Is it over? Are we okay?” Mat said, looking the man directly in the eyes.

“Almost, now just hand over the kid, and it will all be fine.” The man said, putting his hand up to distract Mat as the woman attempted to grab Cherry.

“No, I got her…she’s fine…” Matt said, gripping Cherry with all of his remaining strength.

“Hand over the kid, now!” The man demanded, now pointing his pistol directly at Mat. Erin pounded on the glass as hard as she could, looking for any way to get her pod to open.

“It’ll be alright, just give me the child!” The woman said, clearly struggling to get Cherry out of Mats strong arms.

“I’m not giving you Cherry!” Matt screamed, pulling as hard as he could, trying to keep Cherry from the woman. Just then, the man squeezed the trigger of the revolver and it went off with a loud bang.

“God damnit, get the kid and let’s get out of here.” The man said, clearly taken back by having to kill Mat. Erin screamed as loud as she could, telling herself that she would get revenge on this man for killing her husband and taking her baby. Just as Erin finished this thought, the man walked up to her.

“At least we still have the backup.” The man said, giving Erin a clear view of the smirk he was wearing on his rough face.

“I’ll kill you!” Erin screamed, banging and pounding at the glass window.

“Cryogenic stasis, reinitialized.” The computer said, as a familiar whiteness washed over Erin’s eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed :)


End file.
